1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an antistatic tire.
More specifically, the present invention relates to an antistatic tire of the type comprising electric current conductors on the tread, for grounding the static electricity of a vehicle.
2. Background Information
From EP-A-705722, antistatic tires are known to be formed wherein the tread, shoulders and sidewalls are covered with a thin conductive layer of a conducting mix, which is applied uniformly on the tread blocks and in the grooves between the blocks to form an electrical bridge between the sidewalls, shoulders and tread.
The above solution involves several drawbacks, due to rapid in-service wear of the conductive layer portion covering the blocks, and crumbling of the conductive layer portion covering the grooves, as a result of the fatigue stress to which the tread is subjected in use. Crumbling of the conductive layer is especially marked in the groove region, where the effects of fatigue stress concentrate.
As a result, the original continuous conducting layer of the tire is soon interrupted at various points and no longer capable of grounding the electric charges.